Austria concerned by radical Islamic terrorism

Austrian intelligence report finds that radical Islamic terrorism is still the number one security issue in the country.

Elad Benari, 16/08/19 04:38

Mosque in Austria

Reuters

An Austrian intelligence report found that radical Islamic terrorism is still the number one security issue in the country, with returning Islamic State (ISIS) fighters a chief concern, Breitbart reports, citing the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

The report, which comes from the Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BVT), states that returnees from the Middle East are difficult to predict in their actions and pose a danger due to possibly having combat experience acquired overseas.

By the end of last year, the BVT estimates that at least 320 individuals from Austria travelled to fight for radical Islamic terror groups in Syria or Iraq, with 107 likely to have been killed and 93 having returned.

The agency is said to be deploying new methods to tackle the threats posed by radical extremism and laid out a new plan in October of last year based on the prevention of terror attacks and deradicalization of current extremists.

Facing the challenges of Austrians travelling to the Middle East to join jihadist groups, Austria's parliament in February of 2015 passed a law banning foreign sources of financing to Muslim organizations and requiring imams to be able to speak German.

In June of that year, an Austrian court convicted nine people of Chechen origin who were arrested on their way to join Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists together with their Turkish driver.

In January of 2017, Austrian armed commandos arrested a man suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Vienna, police said.